Exercising after meals can aid weight loss

BBC reports: [edited]

Exercising after meals can help promote weight loss by boosting hormones that suppress appetite, say UK scientists. Thanks to these hormones, active people feel less hungry immediately after exercise, and this carries through to their next meal, experiments suggest.

Even when their meals were bigger, sporty people gained fewer calories overall because they burned off more.

Twelve volunteers were fed the same breakfast. An hour later, half of them worked out for an hour on an exercise bike while the other half sat quietly. Both groups were left for another hour and then allowed to eat as much as they liked.

Unsurprisingly, people who exercised burned more calories than those who sat quietly, 492 kcal compared to 197 kcal. And when given the chance to eat afterwards, people who had exercised tended to eat more, 913 kcal versus to 762 kcal.

However, when the amount of energy burned during exercise was taken into account, the sporty people took in fewer calories overall - 421 kcal compared to 565 kcal for the inactive group.

And levels of hormones called PYY, GLP-1 and PP, which tell the brain when the stomach is full, increased during and immediately after exercise. Volunteers also said they felt less hungry during this time.

Researcher Dr Denise Robertson said: "In the past we have been concerned that, although exercise burns energy, people subsequently ate more after working out. This would cancel out any possible weight reduction effects of exercise.

"But our research shows that exercise may alter people's appetite to help them lose weight and prevent further weight gain as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle."

(Thanks to Chantal for the link)
------------